The Playground
by Lunette Quintessence
Summary: The story of the Teen Titans and how they came to be, starting in the fifth grade. Rating for future chapters. Second Recess is up!
1. First Recess

"The Playground"

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Disclaimer: Now let's think for a moment. If I owned the Teen Titans, do you honestly think I would be writing fanfiction? No, I didn't think so. 

Author's Note: I'm aware that much of this contradicts the original plotline; however, I don't care, because I wanted to do the Titans as children, because it would allow for much character development and a good story; but the Titans don't become themselves at this point in time. You're just going to have to get over the fact that the character backgrounds are somewhat different than they are in the TV show (and perhaps the comics; I haven't read them).

This is my first TT fic. Enjoy!

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The Playground. 

The divine sanctuary of children. Here, sacred rituals are performed. Here, the young engage in joyous celebrations.

And it is here that the Titans came to be...

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:First Recess: 

The school bell rings. Children happily rush out of the building to their safehaven. They scatter, performing such rituals as tag, hide and seek, and lava monster. They swing on swings, slide on slides, and... monkey bar on monkey bars... Children playing pretend like there's no tomorrow.

Except one.

She prefered to sit underneath the slide, in the shade, alone. No one went near her, not knowing particularly why they were repelled by her, and tried their best to ignore her as much as possible. It had been this way ever since she transferred to the Jump City Elementary. When she first arrived, people would try to talk to her, get her to play, and she repeatedly refused the offer. After a while, they gave up, and left her to be in solitude as she so wished, and grew to pay no attention to her whatsoever. Thus, she sat alone in the shade of the slide. And it didn't matter to her. She became accustomed to the loneliness and took this time to meditate or read a book. She always wore a long, midnight blue cloak over her eyes, making her appear like the shadows she so belonged to; it kept her unnoticed. The way she 'wanted' it to be. The way it 'should' be.

But there's always someone who objects to these 'unwritten laws.'

Dick Grayson was your average fifth grader, if your definition of 'average' includes training with Bruce Wayne and fighting for justice alongside his mentor (with, of course, his secret identity, 'Robin') who had been given the chance to start a team of young superheroes so granted by his guardian. And this made him very happy, for his two best friends, Garfield and Victor, were perfect crime-fighting material; Garfield, alias 'Beast Boy', had the power to change into any animal, while Victor, alias 'Cyborg', was half man and half machine, after an accident on the jungle gym, and had superhuman strength, infrared scanners, and laser cannons (conveniently built into his arms). Grayson himself was trained in several forms of martial arts, and had numerous weapons, granted to him by Wayne himself. He had always been taught right from wrong, good from bad, law from crime. Thus, he became the noble goody-goody he is today.

And it was during this recess that he decided this segregation needed to be put to an end. Now.

* * *

"Dude? _Dude?_ Dude!" 

Robin spun around to see his green friend calling to him eagerly. He had not realized that he had been staring off into space. Particularly, the shadowy space beneath the slide. "Sorry," he said distractedly; his mind was still in deep-thought-mode.

"Yo, what's the hold-up?" the voice of his half-robot companion woke him up from what seemed to be a trance. Cyborg looked in the direction Robin's eyes were focused. "Aw, man, come on! Let's get our game on already! It's your turn to be the 'lava monster!'" But he could still sense an uneasiness in Robin. "Come on, Rob, forget her," he said approaching his friend, "She doesn't want to play or nothin'. Just sits there all day long. No point in feelin' bad about it. It's the way things are and the way they always will be."

"Dudes, come on!" Beast Boy shouted from the monkey bars, "This is our last year with recess and I want to make the most of it! Let's play already!"

"BB's gettin' impatient," Cyborg laughed. But Robin's gaze was fixed. He was determined to right this wrong. "Look, if you want, I'll be 'lava monster' instead. But we don't have all recess, you know. Now come on." And he retreated back to the playground equipment.

Robin sighed. It wasn't fair. She didn't have any friends. Seeing her alone everyday drove him insane. This couldn't be what she wanted. No one wants to be ignored. He had to do something. He turned back to his friends. "Alright, I'm coming." Their faces lit up with excitement.

"Finally!" they both sighed at once.

"Just give me a minute."

Instantly the light from their faces were gone. "He's going to ask her to play with us, isn't he, Cy?"

"Yup."

"Great." Beast Boy said sarcastically.

* * *

"Hey." The girl hesitantly looked up from her book, brushing her dark violet hair from her eyes, revealing the crimson chakra imbedded on her forehead. It glittered in a small amount of sunlight, and lit up her solemn face, if only for a little while. She returned to her initial position after seeing the boy in front of her. "Hi," came her quiet voice. 

Robin looked at the spine of the book. It was thick. _She must be smart,_ he thought. "Les Miserables," he read, pronouncing it how it may be read if pronounced in English. He tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

"Les Miserables," she said without looking up, correcting him with the French pronunciation of the title. "It means 'the outcasts.'" The way she spoke, it was almost hypnotic. Emotionless.

"Say it again."

The girl lifted her face again, chakra shimmering in the golden sun's rays, this time revealing a look of puzzlement and shock. "Les Miserables," she repeated, setting the book down on the ground beside her. A pause. "'The Outcasts.'" She looked at him strangely, not quite sure why he asked her to repeat the title, or why he was talking to her in the first place. This was reflected in her eyes, which Robin quickly understood.

He smiled. "Do you want to come play with us?" he responded to the unspoken question.

Her violet eyes stared in disbelief. "Who are you?" she asked finally, feeling a bit foolish.

"I'm Dick. Dick Grayson. But my friends call me Robin." He laughed. "You can call me Robin, too, if you want."

"Robin," she repeated. A pause. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Then, "I'm Raven," she said, mimicking, "just Raven. But my friends call me Raven. You can call me Raven, too, if you want." She giggled softly. Robin did the same. Soon they were both laughing together. _It was a stupid joke_, she thought, _but funny just the same._

"So, you want to come play with us," he repeated after their laughter had calmed down, "Raven?"

Raven's smile quickly disappeared as she looked away. "I'd rather not," she sighed, trying to hide her disappointment. She _did_ want to play with him. He was nice. After all, there was no recess in junior high. But a voice inside her told her to refuse, told her she_ needed_ to be alone, that she was _always _alone, that she was _happier_ alone. Her heart sank.

Robin's look was one of discontent. "Are you sure?" he asked, almost begging. He hated for people to be alone. He knew what it was like to be without friends. He wanted to see everyone happy.

Raven lowered her head, letting her dark purple hair fall in front of her face, and lifted the hood on her cloak. "I just want to be alone," she whispered timidly, drawing her knees in close to her chest. She didn't want him to see the tears that started leaking out. _No_, she thought, _no. I don't want to be alone. Please don't go away_.

Much to her dismay, Robin stood up and brushed himself off. "Well, if you change your mind..." he started. Raven nodded. He didn't need to finish. She held her knees tighter, wishing she would just disappear.

And she watched them play, all the rest of recess, with her deep, amethyst eyes.

:End First Recess:

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How was it? _Neh?_ I hope you enjoyed it. 

This story is really more of an introduction to what I have planned, which is going to be real angsty-like. And romantic. And sad.O.oBasically, it's creating background for more character developments and the development of relationships between the characters (If that makes sense, I think it does.)

I'm not planning on inserting any OC's, and if I do, they'll probably be villans. And that'll only be if I need more villans. But don't expect relationships between my OC's and any of the Titans. They're just going to be there to help the story along. I'm not particularly fond of fics with too many OC's involved. I get confuzzled. ( Me. -- O.o -(?) )

For all you RobxStar fans, don't fret! This isn't a RobxRae fic. Don't get upset, those of you supporting RobxRae, either. It's more like... well, I _could_ insert a **huge** spoiler here, but I won't. Let's just say, love is very complicated, and has many triangles... and pentagons... and many many-sided shapes. Yeah. As a forewarning, this isn't going to be your 7 chapter fic. This is going to be more like... 4 parts (Maybe more, maybe less? Anyway, a number of sequels) starting at humble beginnings (here) and getting more and more complicated.(let's say, abouuut... 7 years after this chapter begins?). Love. Heartache. Lies. Depression. Misunderstandings. Confessions. And _a lot_ of crying. **A LOT**. (I do love making people cry. x3) Yeah. It's going to get real deep. It's going to be long. I hope. That is, if people like it. (I have everything all layed out in my mind... it's going to be great x3) Then again, maybe I'll finish it even if people don't like it, because I'm so excited n.n Don't let that keep you from reviewing, though! I'd love to hear your comments and I'm still open to suggestions.

Reviews are loved 3 I'll try to respond to as many questions and suggestions that I can. I assure you, the story is going to get _much_ better. It's going to be uber deep! x3 (How I do love that word. _Uber_. he ke. n.n)

Thanks for reading! (And don't forget to click that little "review story" button down there... you know you want to...! ;P)


	2. Second Recess

"The Playground"

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Disclaimer: Alright, let's think seriously now. This is a fanfiction, ne? Let us look at that word again. _Fan_fiction. Who writes _fan_fiction? The people who own it? No? Then who? Who writes _fan_fiction? Maybe, oh I dunno, perhaps... _fans_? Oh wow, you're so smart! Look at you! n.n 

Author's Note: I'm aware that much of this contradicts the original plotline; however, I don't care, because I wanted to do the Titans as children, because it would allow for much character development and a good story; but the Titans don't become themselves at this point in time. You're just going to have to get over the fact that the character backgrounds are somewhat different than they are in the TV show (and perhaps the comics; I haven't read them).

Also, please note that "# Recess" doesn't necessarily mean the next day; it could be the same day or even the next month. In any case, I don't plan on writing 180 recesses for every day of the school year.x3 Just thought I would clarify that before any questions arose.

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Thank you luvvies for the wonderful reviews! 3 I'm so happy you liked it. 

To answer a few questions...

**EvilandBored**: Heke,I take it you'refond of Robin x3 I wasn't trying to make him seem overly nice; rather, he's brought up as goody-two-shoes and was trying to do the right thing, no matter how weird he thought Rae was, because that's just the way he was taught. Of course, on the other hand, I was also trying to make the scene pleasing to Robin fans, too, and I couldn't make him be the total jerk you so view him as. xD In this chapter, I tried to show him a _little_ more spoiled and obsessive, though I'm not quite sure if it worked out.

**Peggz** and **Chibi Scooby**: Well, the pairings are going to get very complicated down the road, (not so much in this fic, although suggested) but don't worry! There'll be plenty of BBxRae and RobxStar fluffy chocolate goodness x3 (not stupidly fluffy. I'm going to try and keep their personalities to character, so it may not be as fluffy as you would like, but you're just going to have to deal with that. xD) Also, there is going to be Terra, but her appearence (_way_ down the road) helps to further the BBxRae relationship. Unfortunately for you, there's going to be some RaexRob, (for a reason! There is a method to my madness) but you're going to have to deal with that too. x3

And yes, Starfire will appear later. She just... hasn't. Yet. So, I made up for it with some fluff. Yay fluff! n.n

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_:Second Recess:_

It was kind of irritating.

Ever since Robin spoke with her three days ago, _that girl_ kept staring at them. She was an onyx statue; their every move reflected in her deep, indigo eyes, soaking up every action, hearing every word, yet unchanging as the sun. Was he the only one who noticed her behavior, or simply the only one bothered by it? He didn't know. But he felt akward with_her_ watching them all the time, as if she couldn't stand to miss a single moment. He never saw her blink. He wondered if she was even breathing. Not that it mattered anyway. He wished she would just disappear.

"Boo-yah!" Came the shout of his half-robot friend; startled, Beastboy turned into a mouse. "I FOUND you! Now you're 'it'!" Cyborg smiled from ear to ear. The changeling turned back to his human form and glared at him. "...what?"

He sighed, partly because he couldn't stay mad at his best friend, and partly because he just had the living daylights scared out of him. "Dude, do you know what's up with that creepy chic?" He asked quietly, covering the side of his mouth with his hand so she couldn't see him.

His friend gave a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" he said loudly, causing Beastboy to wince because he was trying to keep her from listening. He turned around to see her gaze wasn't fixed on them, but on Robin. She watched him with intent as he sneaked toward the jungle gym, which they had named the 'home base.' Her expression was flat. Empty. He focused his eyes back to Cyborg.

"She's been like, staring at us forever. Like she's plotting our death or something," he whispered, as though her hearing the conversation would be his demise. He turned his head to look at her again, and watched in horror as her amethyst eyes slowly turned from her main focus and pierced into him, causing a chill to run up his spine. Cyborg laughed.

"Yo, chill, she doesn't seem that bad," his robotic friend suggested, "for all you know, she might be..._ and_ you're not listening, are you?" Cy's voice went from assuring to dull once he realized his green friend was, indeed, not listening to him.

His eyes were fixed to the dark depths of her empty stare; strangely, he felt like he shouldn't look away, like he couldn't look away. _Was there someone behind those beautiful, hypnotic eyes, or was her body an empty husk? What went on in the mind of she who lived in the shadows?_ He searched for the answer in her gaze. ((A/N: Wow, he sure thinks poeticallyx3))

"...B? BB?" He could hear a voice slowly echo into his thoughts. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality and shook his head. _Beautiful? Hypnotic? Ha!_ he laughed inside. _What was I thinking_. He blinked several times before turning back to Cyborg, afraid to look back and risk getting trapped in her spell.

"Woah," he said shakily, pretending he had just been staring into space, "Anyway, she's up to no good." He said firmly.

"Whatever," his friend got in position beside him and slapped him on the back. This was meant as a friendly gesture, but ended up hurting far more than he predicted. Beastboy pulled himself up off the ground and held his back in pain. "You're still 'it'!" the cyborg shouted into his ear, and he ran off to the jungle gym where he high-fived Robin.

_Robin. He didn't even notice, did he? This was all his fault._

"Beastboy, come on, aren't you going to play?" Robin yelled. Suddenly Beastboy realized that he was acting just like Robin was yesterday. But he wasn't going over there. Definately not.

But he was afraid to move. He didn't like that girl looking at him.

"Ow," the changeling groaned, "my back!" and he dropped to his knees. His friends came over to tend to him. "I think Cy slapped me too hard," he whined. Actually, most of the pain had already gone away, but he didn't want them to know that. But as long as they were crowded around him, he wouldn't have to look at her.

"Sorry, BB," his half-robot friend apologized. He grinned. "Guess I don't know my own strength!"

"No kidding," he said dryly. Then he laughed. He couldn't stay mad at him for long. Robin and Cyborg started laughing, too. But Beastboy stopped laughing almost instantly when he saw her.

She was standing above them, her violet hair fluttered in the breeze brushing against her pale skin, and he noticed the bright red gem in her forehead glimmering in the sunlight. She looked down at him with large, indigo eyes. The girl gently dropped to her knees and gingerly placed a hand on his back. The changeling and his friends stared as her hand began to glow brightly, and as she slowly lifted it, Beastboy could feel the slight pain left over from the slap Cyborg had given him drain from his body soothingly. He felt like he was lifted on a cloud.

Cyborg looked from the girl, to Beastboy, to the girl, confused. Robin cleared his throat. "Um, Cyborg, Beastboy: this is Raven," he introduced. "Raven: Cyborg," he pointed him out, then to his green friend, "Beastboy."

"It's a pleasure." Raven's voice rang in his mind. It almost seemed _sad_, not empty, and as he thought of this he noticed that her eyes looked the same way now that she was up close. He noticed small trails drawn down her cheeks; by tears, most likely. He wondered why she had been crying. He looked deep into her eyes, searching for a reason.

He blinked several times. Had he been caught in a trance again? "N-nice to meet you," he said shakily. He could feel butterflies fluttering around in his stomache, until something clicked in his mind and shoo'ed them away._ Dude, no way. That was just too creepy_. Robin stood up, the rest followed.

"Well, Raven, you mind explaining?" Robin asked, awestruck. She looked at him, puzzled.

"Explaining...?"

"How you did that!" Cyborg sounded just as excited. "That glowy... hand... thingy. That was _cool_!" She shrugged. The girl started back in the direction of the slide. _Good riddance_, Beastboy thought, _she was starting to creep me out anyway_. Yet something inside him said he should have thanked her.

* * *

"Wait." Raven felt a warm hand grasp her wrist, pulling her back. She stopped, not bothering to turn around. 

"Raven," Robin coaxed, "why don't you come and --"

She jerked her hand away before he could say any more. "I'd rather not," she lied, looking him in the eye. _'Why are you lying to him?'_ a voice came from inside her. Raven knew she couldn't, she _wouldn't_, become attached to him. It would make her 'job' much easier if she was alone.

Robin's voice got quieter. "Please?" he urged. She turned started to leave when she was spun around fast. "Why don't you want to do anything?" the boy's growled, angry that things weren't going his way.

Raven's eyes began to glow. "What makes you think I have to do what you say?" she barked. "Do whatever you want, but know this: I don't want any part in it." With that said she turned around fiercely and stormed off, passing by her usual shelter and heading toward the trees on the outskirts of the playground to meditate.

He stood shocked by her sudden outburst. He wasn't used to people telling him what to do. _Robin_ was always the leader. _He_ made all the decisions. And he decided that Raven_ was_ going to play with them. He would make her, one way or another.

* * *

"Raven --" 

"Go away. You're breaking my concentration."

It was only until after she snapped at him that she realized it wasn't Robin talking. She opened her eyes and turned her head around, and standing behind her was the green boy whom she'd helped earlier. "Oh," she said flatly, "I thought you were someone else."

Beastboy grinned. "Robin?" he said slyly, sitting down.

"How'd you guess?" Raven said sarcastically. _Why are you sitting down?_ she thought, _I'd really rather be alone._

"He can be a little bossy sometimes, but he's really a nice guy." he smirked. In fact, Robin had sent him over to talk to her, though he'd really rather play with Cyborg.

"Whatever." the goth said flatly. There was an akward silence.

The changeling scratched the back of his head nervously, "So, uh... thanks." he said timidly.

"What for?"

"Well, you know," Beastboy pointed to his back.

"Oh. Right. No problem." she said dryly. She sighed, because she knew he would start asking questions.

And he did. "Are you a doctor or something?"

"No."

"A super hero?"

"No."

"Anything?"

She looked up at him. "Do I look like nothing to you?" her voice growled.

"Well, no, I was just wondering how you do that," he said innocently. She looked at him with a dry expression on her face. There was a pause.

"I don't know. It's a power I was born with," Raven explained.

"Can you do anything else?"

She smirked. She had never thought of her powers as 'cool' until just now. She focused her energy and chanted her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos...!" A few nearby stones were surrounded by black light, and lifted up into the air as Raven lifted her hand. She made a gesture which caused the stones to spin, faster and faster, until she released them and sent them flying in all directions, one nearly hitting Beastboy in the face.

"Watch it!" he yelled playfully. Raven grinned. Suddenly, one of the windows in the school shattered, causing him to turn and look and her to wince. She had forgotten to keep her emotions under control.

"What was that!" Beastboy yelled, shocked.

"What was what?" she said plainly. The changeling looked at her suspiciously. Surely she'd heard that.

The bell rang. Children started making their way back to the building. Beastboy stood up.

"Nevermind. Time to go." He offered his hand, but she got up herself.

"I can take care of myself, thank you," Raven said, quiet yet firm. She started to walk away, and BB did too, until she turned suddenly. "See you tomorrow," her voice rang softly, as she turned back toward the building.

Perhaps, Beastboy thought, she isn't so bad. He smiled and made his way to the schoolhouse.

_:End Second Recess:_

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Sorry it took so long to get this posted; I had a brief writer's block (Couldn't think of a way to end it! xD) Still a kind of sucky ending, but... oh well. Be thankful for what you have. 

Starfire should appear in a chapter or two. It all depends on whether or not I find a good stopping point. x3

Look: There's a button down there used to submit reviews. You click it to make it work. Try it out now.


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